PhD: Walden / Touro / Capella

Hello All -
First I would like to thank all that participate on this message board. Lots of good info.

I am looking to start an online PhD/Business program. I dont mind the week-long yearly sessions (if required). What I am looking for is a school that is accredited and that has a good program. I have a BSc and MSc in engineering and was planning on working on an MBA, but after thinking a bit I decided that perhaps I should pursue PhD studies and take advantage of a program that would cover majority of MBA classes plus the research and get a PhD.

Walden, Touro and Capella seem as few obvious choices?
Any feedback on them would be greatly appreciated!!!

Is AACSB accreditation an MBA-only thing or does it also apply to PhD programs?

Do the above mentioned schools have one-on-one styles of teaching or are the message boards where students exchange ideas? How structured are classes? Will I have problems w/ my engineering background?

Thx in advance -
Sam

 

Actually neither, AACSB accreditation is in two areas Business and Accountin and they accredit programs in htose areas. A program can have AACSB accreditation and not offer an MBA, Phd, or DBA. Tehy can also be accredited and only offer graduate course, and not offer an MBA (e.g. MS Businees, MA Mangement, etc.).

For a further look and to see the accredited programs see:

AACSB and Accredited members.

BTW: membership is not the same as accrditation with AACSB.

 

It should be noted that CCU. KWU, and PWU are NOT AACSB accredited!

 

First, I would consider the MBA first, and maybe a program where you can hit the MBA milestone and go right to the PhD.

The only reason I say that is my experience with the Engineering field. I work at a company with mostly engineers, my husband is an engineer, and I was grouped with engineers (the "aerospace" group) in my MBA. I thinkt here are many new concepts that a Business person finds basic (like the 4 P's), that an Engineer needs to be familar with. Not to say this is rocket science, but the material needs to be covered, it might be overwhelming to both by introduced the material and to do ground breaking research for the PhD.

[/i]
Walden, Touro and Capella seem as few obvious choices?
Any feedback on them would be greatly appreciated!!!

Is AACSB accreditation an MBA-only thing or does it also apply to PhD programs?

Do the above mentioned schools have one-on-one styles of teaching or are the message boards where students exchange ideas? How structured are classes? Will I have problems w/ my engineering background?
[/QUOTE]

This is a great question, but you will need to provide more information for a good answer. If you want to teach at a brick and mortar school, I would recommend an AACSB school ONLY. Since your degree is in Engineering, I could assume you want the degree for consulting, and I would recommend a school like Touro.

I see a couple of drawbacks of Touro though. DL is not accepted universally. Many schools that have a B&M and DL school will not note which you receive, so you are get the reputation of the school's B&M, but by obtaining it through the DL medium. Touro is the strongest I have found that is strictly B&M.

If you are going AACSB it will be very difficult to find a school that will accept you with no Business background. I think the average acceptance rate in the PhD at an AACSB is about 5-10%.

AACSB is a business school accreditation, so no, no particular program is accredited. If the school department is accredited, then all the programs in that department are accredited. This means from undergrad to Doctorate.

Do be careful though of a PhD offering outside the Business school, like the "School of Technology", which the Business school is accredited, but the school of technology is not.

Once you answer what you want to do with it, I can give some suggestions on where to go and why (but only from my perspective, which is different than some, but that is the great thing about this board).

 

Consulting

Thanks for the detailed replies ...

My main reason for a PhD is mainly for personal satisfaction and knowledge. I do not plan on teaching at a university and see myself mainly staying at the internet/commerce technology space. Hope to be a CEO/CTO one day.

I have researched a lot of PhD programs but very few make it possible to be completed while working, many of them require a year or two or more of full time resident work at a university etc etc.

So, I am at a point where I am asking myself:
- I have a MSc in Eng ... should I get another Masters (MBA) or go for a PhD???? It "sounds" better to have a PhD then a MSc and a MBA - plus I dont want to be in school all my life.

Ideally I would love to get an MBA and the PhD but we are talking 5-6 years or more ...

Thx for the feedback.
Sam

 

Walden, Touro and Capella are good options. But, if you don't mind short residences, you should look into University of Maryland, Indiana State and Nova.

 

Re: Consulting

If you have a M.Sc in Eng, you should look into the PhD in technology management at Indiana State. You are right, MBAs are 10 cents a dozen these days so unless it is from a top tier university I wouldn't bother.

 

Re: Re: PhD: Walden / Touro / Capella

[
This is a great question, but you will need to provide more information for a good answer. If you want to teach at a brick and mortar school, I would recommend an AACSB school ONLY. Since your degree is in Engineering, I could assume you want the degree for consulting, and I would recommend a school like Touro.

I see a couple of drawbacks of Touro though. DL is not accepted universally. Many schools that have a B&M and DL school will not note which you receive, so you are get the reputation of the school's B&M, but by obtaining it through the DL medium. Touro is the strongest I have found that is strictly B&M.

[/B][/QUOTE]

Be careful, your degree will be granted from "Touro International University" a virtual university that might be connected with Touro college but it is a separate entity and will grant a degree on its own.

Touro International University has no campus so it is not considered a B&M but a virtual university. I would expect the utility of a Touro degree be comparable to one from Capella, Jones international or Walden.

 

Not so fast there RFValve ...

Please understand that RFValve does NOT like Touro ...
<simply do a search on his past comments for proof>

And he is a Ph.D. DL student in another off-shore program.

Now for some more accurate facts on the matter:

1. It is Touro University International ... TUI.

2. My TUI MBA diploma in fact actually reads:

Touro University International
Los Alamitos California, U.S.A.
(Branch Campus of Touro College, New York)

3. As to the value ... who knows exactly, perhaps
in another 3 to 5 years, when more graduates
from ALL the programs have been "out there" for
a period of time, we can draw some accurate
conclusions and not just personal opinions as now.

Disclaimer: Past TUI MBA grad and current TUI Ph.D. student.

Billy

 

You may want to look at Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programs. I am in my second year in a distance at a brick and mortar school (ESC Grenoble) and am having a great time. My fellow students have had no problems getting adjunct positions at traditional schools and for those of us who are more interested in consulting – the program has been ideal.

The program is in France, but the professors come to the U.S. each year (next visit is July 17-28 in New Orleans) and we spend a week in France every November. The rest is via videoconference/webcam/phone. This is a European format, which means that you are given a supervisor and most of your work is done with this person. Cost is $8400 per year and the program is three years.

We are accredited by the Conference of Grand Ecoles and EQUIS http://www.efmd.be/equis/list.htm

By the way, there is an excellent PowerPoint on the AACSB website comparing EQUIS and AACSB

www.aacsb.edu/conferences/events/handouts/SAC02/Shenton.ppt

There are many DBA programs besides and I would encourage you to review this site before deciding on where you want to spend the next 3-7 years

 

Re: Re: Re: PhD: Walden / Touro / Capella

Not true! The diploma and transcripts clearly states that Touro University International is a branch campus of Touro College New York. If you browse the touro college web site (www.touro.edu) you will find that TUI is just a branch campus of Touro College like any other branch campuses allover the NYC.

Just for the information for the members of this board, I used to live at Brooklyn NY, I went to Touro College NYC Main campus many times... Also visited the major campuses at Brooklyn, Queens... I personally asked the Touro College officials about the relation of TUI with them .. their answer was it is just a branch campus like other campuses... they all carry the same value as B&M Touro... TUI and Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine are two national campuses outside of NYC...

Please also note that TUI is accredited by the middle state as a branch campus of Touro College NY and TUI is not seprately accredited. Which reflects that TUI does NOT issue degrees at its own, rather it is issued under the capacity of B&M Touro College NY.

I hope this clears about TUI virtual vs B&M issues..

Thanks

MFH
MBA - Final Semester, TUI

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: PhD: Walden / Touro / Capella

Just to beat this dead horse a little more... when I graduated from TUI, Dr. Bernard Lander, President and founder of Touro College, handed me my TUI diploma. TUI is very much an integrated part of Touro College -- just as the law school, school of medicine, and other branch campuses are.

To answer your original question, I think Walden, Touro and Capella will all meet your needs. I believe that Walden has some residency requirements, which was one reason I did not choose to go there. Capella and Touro are both good options (from the list of three you mentioned). I think you will find that Touro students and graduates are very pleased with their education. I know I am! (Although, I suspect the same could be said with Capella graduates.) It sounds like either school would be a good choice for what you are looking for.

Steve

 

With this discussion alone, you should consider the arguments for both sides on Touro, and strictly B&M schools. There are pleanty to chose from out there, and you may want to consider schools with a B&M presence.

ESC Grenoble is a great program from what I have read and the contact I have had with other students, the only reason I did not go with it is the AACSB issue, other than that, it is a strong program. If you are not teaching, the AACSB is not an issue.